Hand Me Down
by Dirt Road Darlin
Summary: Gibbs is determined to find out what is wrong with his favorite forensic scientist. But, will he like what he discovers?


Fanfic: NCIS - Hand Me Down (Gibbs/Abby) - Complete

Abby, Angst, Complete, Fanfic, Fic, Friendship, Gabby, Gibbs, Heartbreak, Love, NCIS, One Shot, Sadness

Rating: T (Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes).

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**SUMMARY:**  
Gibbs is determined to find out what is wrong with his favorite forensic scientist. But, will he like what he discovers?

**STORY NOTES:**  
Originally written on Apr 11, 2008.

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**- - : ~ * ~ : - -** will appear before and after any flashbacks.  
All inner thoughts are in _italics_.

**DISCLAIMER:**  
This fanfic has been written purely for entertainment value, with no money being made from this work. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners with no copyright infringement intended. The original characters/places/plot/etc. are the sole property of the author. Thank you.

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… **HAND ME DOWN …**

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Abby sat at her bay window with her back against the wall, head tilted toward the partially frosted glass, watching silently as the snow kept falling.

_"Looks like glitter,"_ she thought to herself as she noticed how the light from the nearby lamppost was making the snow glisten. She smiled for a moment. She loved the snow. She loved how it made everything fresh and clean and new again. She wished it could do the same for her…

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**… TWO DAYS EARLIER …**  
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"Abs, whatcha got for me?"

"Not much," she told him as she moved to her computer screen, avoiding his stare. "All I can tell you right now is that the blood _does not_ belong to Colonel Joyce Petry or Daniel Workman."

Gibbs moved toward her to look at the fingerprint on her computer screen, too wrapped up in his case to give much thought to the difference in his lab tech.

"So, you think there's another victim?" he asked, sitting the Caf-Pow down next to her pale hand.

"That," she began. "Or another suspect."

"Good work, Abs." He told her quickly before heading back to the bullpen.

It wasn't until later that evening when he went back to visit her that Gibbs noticed the non-communication between them, realizing that it had been that way for a few days now. Sure, she gave him his results. Sure, she did it with a smile and thoroughness that she always did. But, something was off. This wasn't his Abs.

"Something wrong, Abs?" he finally asked her.

"Just tired," she told him, still never meeting his eyes with her own. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate, but she never did.

"Abs," he started, but was cut short when McGee and Ziva entered the lab.

"Abby," McGee began, "Ziva says you told her about Lindsay!"

"Didn't know it was a secret, McGee." She said with a grin. But, it wasn't a real one. Gibbs knew the difference.

"Abby!" McGee yelled.

"McGee!" she yelled back. "Listen to me, if you're afraid or ashamed for people to know about her, then cut her loose. She deserves better than to be your dirty little secret."

McGee, Ziva and even Gibbs were a little taken aback by her words.

"If you can't be proud to be at her side, then you don't need her and she doesn't need you. Show her you care, McGee. Shout it to the world that she's your girl. Every woman deserves that much."

Still, they were silent. Just staring at the lab technician in utter shock.

"Now, all of you, get out of here. I've got work to do."

Abby put her hand on Ziva and McGee's backs, pushing them toward her door. Gibbs watched in silence, following behind her. She turned when she had them out of her lab, only to run into Gibbs, dropping her papers to the floor.

"Damn," she muttered, dropping to her knees.

Gibbs bent down to help. "Abs,"

"Uh, Boss." Came the male voice from the elevator. "DiNozzo's on the phone. He's got something for us in the bullpen."

Gibbs sighed, patting Abby's hand, again noticing that she never looked at him. He headed toward the elevator and Abby sighed with relief and disappointment.

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**… ONE DAY EARLIER …**  
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It was 4:00 AM when Abby made her way to the lab. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't come in early with the hopes that she wouldn't have to make small talk with the team before "work" started. They knew her well, some better than others, but they all knew her pretty well. And though she smiled and joked and did what she could to keep the normal routine, it was hard to do and she felt as if she were beginning to crack. Even the sun doesn't shine all the time and she was weary.

As hoped, the day went pretty fast with little interruption. Gibbs and the others had been out most of the day, following up leads and trying to gather more evidence. Her only distractions had come in the image of a handsome medical examiner, and honestly, she had welcomed his interruptions over the video screen. She could talk to him without being directly in front of him. It made things much easier. But, there was the inevitable…

"Abigail, my dear, is there something…"

"Just tired, Ducky" she had interrupted him. It wasn't a lie. She would never lie to Ducky.

"If you're certain," he told her.

"I am," she replied sadly. "Talk to you later, Duck Man."

With that, she moved away from the screen and headed toward her office.

By 9:00 PM she had done every test there was to do and decided that there was nothing left to keep her busy. All the evidence was logged and processed and the last twenty minutes had been filled with nothing more than her sitting at her desk twiddling her thumbs… literally.

"Time to go home," she told Bert as she grabbed him and tucked him under her arm, allowing the beast to release his rather infamous sound and giving her a small smile. "Bert!" she said with a giggle as she turned the light off to her office.

"Nice to hear you laugh, Abs."

"Gibbs," she blurted out as she turned, never leaving the darkened room.

"Heading home?" he asked with concern squinting to try to make her out in the darkness.

"Sure am, my hero." She replied, trying to sound chipper. And she was, honest. Gibbs always made her happy. "Were you needing something before I left?" She asked, but was interrupted.

"Gibbs, are you in here?"

"Hollis," he said with a bit of shock as he turned to see the blonde colonel making her way into Abby's lab.

"McGee said he thought you were down here," she explained. "Abby," she said shortly, acknowledging the dark haired woman with the hippo.

"Mann," Abby returned, stepping by the two and heading toward the door to leave.

"Abby," Gibbs called out to her.

"Yes?" she questioned, stopping by the door, but never turning to look at him.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Gibbs." And she was gone.

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**… PRESENT DAY …**  
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It was snowing.

The weatherman predicted a snowstorm, but that wasn't supposed to hit until in the evening. Abby was glad. She could go home, watch the snow and try to forget. She couldn't wait for this day to be over.

"Abby?"

She recognized the voice instantly. It was Gibbs. "Just in time," she told him as he entered the lab. "You see this?" she asked as she pointed to the computer screen, still avoiding direct eye contact.

"Yeah,"

"Do you know what that is?"

"Ummm," Gibbs mumbled, trying to figure out just what he was looking at. "No," he finally replied.

"Well, neither did I," she told him.

"Abby," came the warning.

"Gibbs, I'm getting to it!" She moved from the computer and headed toward the evidence box. She took out the camera that had been at the crime scene and held it up. "It's a picture from the camera. The last picture to be exact."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she repeated. "It took some time, but I finally figured it out. I worked and worked and fiddled with the pixels and,"

"What'd you come up with?"

"The killer." She hit a button on her computer and a new image popped up, much clearer and with a definite visible image of a man with a knife. "That is your killer, Gibbs."

"Get a name?"

"Billy Cooper." She handed him a slip of paper with an address before continuing. "He dated your victim almost 2 years ago before they had a bitter breakup."

"Good work, Abs," he told her as he gently kissed her cheek, feeling her stiffen a bit, but deciding not to mention it. Not now at least.

With the information that Abby had found, Gibbs and the team did indeed find Colonel Petry's killer. The minute Gibbs and DiNozzo had stepped into his home, the man had burst into tears and admitted to the whole thing. He had loved her, he told them. She had loved someone else. He had hoped for reconciliation, but when he heard news of a marriage proposal, he snapped. He couldn't live without her and wouldn't let her live without him. Gibbs had just shaken his head as they took the man in for murder.

It was 7:00 PM when they finally wrapped everything up. Gibbs, whose thoughts had been consumed by Abby all day, made his way to her lab.

He walked into the lab, hearing nothing more than the subtle humming of her machines. Finally he found her sitting on her futon, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

"You okay?"

She immediately jumped to her feet, "Gibbs!"

"Abby," he called to her as she began making her way through her lab.

"The results aren't back yet. Major Mass Spec is working as hard as he can and…"

He stopped her then, placing a hand on either side of her shoulders to still her movements. "Abby," he repeated, concern clearly showing in his voice. "There aren't any results to be back."

She honestly looked stunned by his statement, taking a moment to fully register that he was right.

"I asked you if you were okay," he told her, still holding on to her.

"Yup." She said quickly, never looking into his blue eyes.

"Abby," he whispered, bringing one hand up so his thumb could gently caress the side of her face. "What's wrong?"

"Just…" she began, and decided there was no use in lying, even if she had no intention of telling him what was wrong. "Just a lot on mind is all."

"Wanna to talk about it?" he questioned, unnerved by the fact that she still wouldn't look at him.

"Nope. Not really," she admitted before moving herself from Gibbs' proximity.

As she moved from him, he tilted his head a bit in an act of confusion and frustration. He sighed in defeat. "Let me know when you do."

Abby walked back to the window once she heard the ping of the elevator signal to her that Gibbs had returned to the bullpen. She was there for only a second before she was burying her head in her hands and letting her tears finally fall.

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Tony sat at his desk and glanced up as Gibbs returned, noticing his ill mood made him question if something was wrong. He knew Gibbs had just returned from seeing Abby and seeing Abby always made Gibbs smile, so why was he not smiling?

DiNozzo swiftly rose from his seat and proceeded to head toward the elevator.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled.

"Yes, Boss?"

"Going somewhere?"

"No, Boss," he replied before turning to walk back to his desk, taking long strides as he continued, "I was just uh, stretching my legs, boss."

Gibbs looked up at him through a furrowed brow, not believing a word that was being spoken to him.

"Something wrong?" he asked his boss as he took his seat.

"Nope."

"Oh," DiNozzo replied, scratching his head as he glanced at Ziva who had been taking the whole scene in.

Gibbs dropped his head, pretending to look at something of importance on his computer. In truth, his mind was nowhere near the computer. Something was wrong with Abby, something she wouldn't even share with him. Something had a put a cloud around the only sunshine he had in his life and he had to know why.

Hitting his fist on his keyboard, and mumbling a curse word, Gibbs rose from his seat once again.

"Boss?" Tony questioned, as Gibbs' team rose to follow their leader.

"Go home," he told them, making sure that Tony, Ziva and McGee had all heard his order. "There's nothing else that can be done tonight."

"You sure, boss?"

"DiNozzo," he began, edging closer to the team, "It wasn't a request."

"Yes, boss."

With that, Gibbs watched as three of the four best field agents he'd ever had, headed home. He made sure they were gone before heading to the stairwell. He was going to see Abby again, and this time, she was going to talk to him, like it or not.

He took the stairs so she couldn't be alerted to his arrival by the elevator ping. But, when he entered her lab, he found it dark and absent. "Damn," he mumbled under his breath. Apparently he was going to have to make a house call.

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Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat in his car, watching the snow falling softly and covering the street. But, that wasn't entirely true. His eyes were fixed on the silhouette of a woman, sitting in a bay window, three houses up.

He sighed as he watched her, the soft light from her candles casting a beautiful glow around her figure. Even sitting, you could see the sadness in her. Her back against the wall, her head tilted just enough to look out the window, her knees pulled up close to her chest, and she was still. She never moved a muscle. Even when the power had left the street covered in black, she had not left her spot in that window.

He was surprised she hadn't spotted his car by now. It was a true testament to her distress (or his skills at spying). He wondered why he hadn't made his way to her door yet. That was a lie, he knew why. When he had arrived on the street, she had already been at that window, and the minute he saw her, he had been unable to let his eyes move from her. He had been there almost an hour now, and it wasn't until he watched her move from his sight that he could bring himself to move as well.

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Abby hadn't realized just how long she had been at the window until she noticed the light from one her candle's beginning to die. With that, she moved away and decided to go ahead and dress for the night. Sifting through the darkness, Abby finally found a pair of black flannel pajama bottoms and without much thought she quickly shed herself of her day's attire and slipped the black bottoms over her form. She smiled; enjoying the warmth the new article of clothing gave her. Her legs definitely appreciated the new found warmth.

Next came her top. Quickly she slid the tee over her head and led her arms into their respective holes. But, as she slid the fabric over her back and stomach, she couldn't stop the wince that made it's way out of her mouth as the pain shot through her back.

She sighed softly and with defeat. She pulled the shirt up to her shoulder and made her way to the mirror that hung in the corner. Moving her body into a position that allowed her to see her back, she scrunched her nose up at the image. The small stick angels had done very little to protect her body. Shades of blue, purple and green were scattered across her back and she was irritated by the whole incident.

"What the hell," came the angry, yet concerned, question as Gibbs made his way to the corner of the room.

Abby quickly jumped and began pulling at her tee. "Gibbs," she shouted, "You scared me! What are you doing here?"

"Don't!" He started as he stopped mere inches from her face. "Don't do that, Abby."

"Don't do what, Gibbs?" she asked as innocently as she could, secretly cursing herself for telling Gibbs that he never had to knock when coming to her house, just walk right in.

"That!" He yelled. "Don't pretend like I didn't just see what I saw."

"What did you see?" she questioned, still not budging on playing the "innocent" act.

"Abby," he grumbled before pulling at her shirt.

"Gibbs, if you wanted me naked, all you had do is ask," she told him teasing.

"Hey," he started, his voice filled with worry. He watched her then as her green eyes finally looked into his blue ones and he felt some sort of relief. It was the first time in three days that she had finally looked at him. His hand was immediately on her cheek, caressing her softly as he continued to stare in to those emerald eyes. "Let me see."

It was an order, she was sure, but it sounded more like a plea. Giving in, Abby finally turned her back to her favorite person in the world and dropped her head.

Within seconds she felt his cool, calloused hands find their way to the edge of her tee and begin pulling the fabric up as gently as he could, careful not to touch her for fear of hurting her. But when he did, she felt that old familiar feeling in her stomach that made this all so much more the heartbreak.

"Abs," he muttered as he traced the bruises with his fingertip. "What happened?"

"Fell," she told him.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head at how stubborn his little lab bat could be.

"The truth, Abs." His voice was a whisper, and she could have sworn there was a small quiver in it as well.

She swallowed hard, turning back around to meet his stare. "Seriously, I fell," she told him. "But don't worry. Three cement steps caught me."

He grinned, he couldn't help himself. Relief had washed over him at the realization that it had indeed been an accident and not someone trying to hurt her.

"So what's wrong?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly fun. I mean, I was coming home from work, the snow was falling, what I failed to see was the ice under the snow. First thing I know, I'm walking up the steps, second thing I know, I'm sliding back down them. It wasn't pleasant. But, I'm okay. No need to worry, Gibbs. But, thanks for the concern. Really nice of you."

She was trying her best to push him toward the door.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Doing what?"

"This, Abby." He told her, knowing that she knew what he meant.

"I…"

"Why are you hurting?"

"Didn't we discuss this already?" she teased. "Ice, foot, steps."

"Abby," he pleaded.

"Because."

"Because?" He asked, searching her eyes for a sign of the truth.

"Because, I'm tired."

He arched an eyebrow as he waited for her to continue, leading her over to her couch so they could sit while she explained.

"I'm tired of never being right, Gibbs. I'm tired of being alone."

He stiffened a little, but never failed from his duty of rubbing little circles on her palm.

"I try, Gibbs. I really do. I try to find the right one, but I never do. McGee was wrong for me. Mikhael was too bad for me. Marty wasn't, well, I wasn't enough for Marty. Or too much, whichever you prefer." She sighed, feeling defeated.

"I'm just not… it. For anyone. And," she began, tears filling her eyes as she fought to keep them from falling. "I don't think I ever will be."

"Abs," was all he could say. There was so much more than that, just on the tip of his tongue, but it didn't make its way out. No voice was given to the words he wanted to say.

"I mean, everyone has someone, or has had someone that they love." She moved from him then, moving through the rooms and finding her way back to the window, watching the snow fall. "McGee has Lindsay, Tony has Ziva, yes I know they aren't an item, but they love each other. Ducky has Dr. Hamilton. Palmer has Lee. And, you…" She turned briefly to see if he was even still with her. He was. Watching her every move, hanging on her every word. "You had Shannon."

He swallowed hard.

She saw it. Couldn't NOT see it.

"And," she began, speaking the hardest words that she thought she had ever said in her life, "And now you have Mann."

It fell quickly, that tear on her cheek that burned her skin as she spoke the last sentence.

He wondered if now would be a good time to tell her that he and Hollis had called it quits. She wanted more from him than he was willing to give.

"Everyone has someone," she told him. "Or has had someone that they felt was it… except me. All I am…"

The tears were flowing freely now, no way to stop them. "All I am Gibbs, is a hand me down."

He tilted his head again, confused by her words.

"Just something to be used and then handed off to someone else. Handed down, passed around, until no one wants it and then it's just tossed away." She turned to stare at him then, black streaks of mascara running down her cheeks, her breath hitched and lips trembling. "I'm tossed away." She crumbled to the floor then, not sure her legs could have held her one second more than they did.

In an instant he was at her, on his knees, in front of her. "Listen to me," he whispered. "You're no one's hand me down." He wiped a stream of tears from her cheek before continuing. "You got it? No One's!"

"Then what would you call it Gibbs? Because whatever it is, I'm tired of being it."

"Dammit," he mumbled as he continued to stare into those eyes that he thought would surely be the death of him. "It's not that you're not good enough."

She heard him, he knew that. She just didn't believe him. He knew that too.

"Abs," he whispered, making the sign of "my girl" on her cheek. "If anything, we're not good enough for you."

"We?" she asked.

"I mean," he stuttered. He searched her eyes for anything, anything that would tell him to step back, to let her go, to walk away and be the old man he was, but he didn't see that at all. He just saw Abby. His Abby. His girl.

"Ah hell," was the last thing he said before bringing his head down to hers and letting his mouth claim the lips that had tormented him for too many years now.

His lips were welcomed by hers. Abby never said a word though, she just wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

Moments later, Gibbs pulled away, searching her eyes for regret, but found none. "You're not a hand me down, Abs," he told her. "You never have been. You're just what you've always been." He swallowed hard, trying to find the words. "You're…"

"I'm what, Gibbs?"

"Mine."

She realized then, as he claimed her lips once more, that there was nothing in this world that she'd rather be.

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**… LATER …**  
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Abby sat at her bay window with her back against the wall, head tilted toward the partially frosted glass, watching silently as the snow kept falling. She smiled for a moment as she listened to the sleeping figure stretched across her floor. She loved the snow. She loved how it made everything fresh and clean and new again. She felt blessed that Gibbs had done the same for her…

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… **THE END …**

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